What's in your (mobile) wallet?

Taken from: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444180004578016383395015570.html?mod=djem_jiewr_IT_domainid

In this Wall Street Journal technology article it notes:

Leslie Fiet wouldn't mind if her customers paid for their sweet treats with a smartphone instead of cash or plastic. But in the eight months since the owner of Mini's Cupcakes in Salt Lake City installed a device that can accept mobile payments, no one has tried it.

"Nobody really has a mobile wallet," Ms. Fiet said, referring to the digital replacement for traditional credit cards and debit cards that can be loaded into a phone and used for payment.

Ms. Fiet's experience highlights the many hurdles facing widespread adoption of mobile payments. Banks, merchants and technology companies have bet billions of dollars on the technology, but those investments likely will take years to pay off. Even early-stage winners in the race to devise a new standard for mobile payments, such as Google., have barely made a dent in what is expected to be a giant market later this decade.

It is a great technology - the campus uses NFC (Near Field Communication) with the Q-Card, but the jump from a campus with students required to have the NFC / RFID Q-Card to the real world seems to be hard to do.  The new iPhone 5 doesn't have a chip for mobile payments, and that is a deterrent in the move to the mobile wallet concept!!

Microsoft needs more people!!!

Taken from:  http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9231819/Trying_to_fill_6_000_jobs_Microsoft_pitches_10_000_H_1B_visa?source=CTWNLE_nlt_dailyam_2012-09-28


The article notes:

Microsoft says the 6,000 open jobs it has in the U.S is an increase of 15% over the number open last year, and that over 3,400 of those jobs are for researchers, developers and engineers. 

While most of the article is about getting more H1B visas and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) green card visas, it does indicate a great job market for IT graduates!!!

New boss at Yahoo

Taken from: http://bottomline.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/24/14073024-yahoo-employees-to-get-taste-of-new-ceos-radical-transparency?lite

Where Yahoo was a mainstay of my life - say back in 2004 - it barely comes on my radar anymore.  The new CEO is Marissa Mayer, a veteran of Google who is pushing a "radical transformation".  

The article noted: " They have two customers, the consumer and the advertiser, but without the consumer, there’s no advertiser, so she has to make sure the consumer stays,"

So, we wish good luck for Marissa - I think she will need it to bring Yahoo back into relevance again!!!

iPhone 5 Orders top 2M in 24 hours

Taken from: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/personal/story/2012/09/17/apple-iphone-5-pre-orders-topped-2m-in-24-hours/57789680/1?morestories=obinsite

This was just for pre-orders!!!  People also have been lined up to get the new iPhone at Apple retail stores.  It looks like a very successful launch for Apple!!!

Apple pushed back shipping on new iPhone 5

Taken from:  http://www.usatoday.com/tech/story/2012/09/14/apple-pushes-back-shipping-date-for-iphone-5/57781120/1

The article stated that Apple moved shipping dates of iPhone 5 back a few days.  The speculation is that demand is very strong.

Next password??

Taken from:  http://redtape.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/25/14074229-why-your-next-passw0rd-might-not-be-a-password?lite

The article noted that passwords can be a problem.  We need something to secure data and access to accounts, but currently is is something we know.  The article noted that "LINK" is the most common password for LinkedIn followed by 1234.

Biometrics are generally much more secure - but might have some minor problems (cut off my hand and put my finger on the fingerprint reader - or cut out my eye and put it up to the retina scan).

The article noted:

"Text passwords are unsafe, fingerprints and retinas can be faked. So how do you make an unbreakable password? A Canadian inventor is developing a biometric monitor that fits inside a shoe that he says is unhackable. Doors open for you — and nobody else."

The reasoning is that humans eventually develop a walking pattern.  This pattern is both biometric - but something we do.  So, you can cut off my feet and put them up against the door, but it won't open - but if I walk up to the door, it can sense my feet - and my pattern (gait) of walking!!  The concept is: "The system uses a "BioSole" inserted into shoes to assess a wearer’s gait, matching that distinctive pattern against an existing record to verify the person’s identity."

So ... I hope I don't sprain my knee - or have to have crutches, the gate might not recognize my gait!!!

Data storage?

Taken from:  http://gizmodo.com/5946110/this-piece-of-glass-can-store-data-forever

Hmmm ... data that doesn't die?

The article had this:

Data, like all things, eventually dies. Your music, your movies, your documents, your files, your computer. You don't expect it to live forever but... what if it did? Hitachi claims that they've developed a new quartz glass plate that can store data forever.

CDs and hard drives can only last for a few decades or a century at most, this new quartz glass can "endure extreme temperatures and hostile conditions without degrading, almost forever." How does it work? The data is stored in binary form with dots inside a thin sheet of quartz glass. The data is read with an ordinary optical microscope. 

So, if I really want something to last for hundreds of years, I will be putting it on this quartz glass plate (maybe).  I can't think of anything that I might want to last that long!!!  

Taken from: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/futureoftech#/technology/futureoftech/lifewatch-phone-pocket-sized-doctors-office-1B5946723

The article states:

The phone in your pocket may be smart enough to give directions and play games, but when was the last time it took your temperature? The LifeWatch is a new Android-based phone with the ability to monitor vital statistics like heart rate and blood sugar.

Many people suffer from chronic medical conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure that necessitate frequent checks of their vital signs. Often this is achieved by a dedicated device like a blood sugar detector or heart rate monitor — but the creators of LifeWatch realized these functions could be integrated into a single device.

We have talked about this as a 'gamechanger' - keeping older people in their homes longer by monitoring their vital signs and being able to note changes by health professionals and be able to provide medical services when and where needed.

Apple wins 1 billion court battle with Samsung

Taken from: http://bottomline.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/24/13462559-apple-earns-1-billion-victory-over-samsung-in-patent-case?lite

The article noted:

Apple scored a sweeping legal victory over Samsung Friday as a jury found the Korean company had copied critical features of the hugely popular iPhone and iPad and awarded the U.S. company $1.051 billion in damages.

Apple already is the phone to beat in the marketplace.  With this decision, Apple continues to steam roll over its competition.  Apple has set record prices for its stock, with the courts deciding in its favor, with hot iPhones, iPads, computers, mp3 players, it seems like Apple can do no wrong!!! 

iPhone 5 getting good response

Taken from: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/apples-iphone-5-pre-orders-now-shipping-2-weeks-998863

The article notes from Reuter's news service: 

(Reuters) - Shipment dates for Apple Inc's new iPhone slipped by a week on the first day of sales on Friday, suggesting strong demand for the slimmer, lighter and faster version of the smartphone.
Within an hour of the start of presales, the www.apple.com store was projecting shipments would take two weeks to fulfill, said Cross Research, an independent research house. 

Another article stated:

Made from aluminum and glass, at 112 grams, the iPhone 5 is 20 percent lighter than the iPhone 4S. Thinner too: at 7.6mm it's 18 percent thinner. As the rumors suggested, it looks like a taller version of the iPhone 4S.

The demand seems strong.  The iPhone 5 is thinner, faster and larger screen - and it is LTE (i.e. 4th generation).  Maybe not a game changer, but definitely interesting!!!

 The tough question for consumers might be - switch early (and pay extra), wait until your contract is up; or ... just ignore the hype!!

Getting off the upgrade treadmill

Taken from: http://lifehacker.com/5942915/how-to-get-off-the-upgrade-treadmill-and-stop-wasting-money-on-new-tech

So, yes, Apple has introduced a new iPhone 5 (finally some say); Amazon has a new Kindle Fire HD; and a new Barnes and Noble Nook to be released soon - let alone a new laptop, new gaming device, new ABC and new XYZ!!!

In the article, Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon states:

We don't need you to be on the upgrade treadmill. If we made our money when people bought the device, we'd be rolling out programs left and right to try to get you to upgrade. In fact, we're happy that people are still using Kindle Ones that are five years old. They're still reading on them, and every time they buy a book, that's good for us. That's alignment.

They (Amazon) can still make money even if they don't sell you a new device - as they tie it back to you buying a new e-book from them (or many new e-books).

Americans have followed a "keep up with the Jones" philosophy - do you want to look out-of-step if you don't have the latest and greatest phone, device, tablet, computer?

Many of the upgrades are really only incremental changes - faster, slimmer, uses less power.  But, not quite the dynamic 'game changer' event.   Is an new iPhone or whatever going to make a significant difference for you?  The article noted: "an iPhone 4 is still a fantastic phone capable of running the same apps the new iPhone 5 can."

3D printing

Taken from:  http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2012/09/09/opinion/doc504bbb80f0bdd642456513.txt

Say I’m in California and you’re in New York. And I send you a valve to replace the one in your car that broke; or a pair of corrective eyeglasses customized to your specifications, when all you’ve given me is the prescription; or — yes, this is being explored — they transmit a body organ to replace one of yours that is defective.

That is the promise of 3D printing - an exciting development if you stop and think about it.  The airplane needs a part to fly - zap - the part is sent electronically and printed in the machine shop / storage area of the airport and immediately put into service.  As the article suggests, you need a kidney - and an appropriate donor just died in remote Montana.  Zap - the kidney is sent to the printer (not printing with ink and paper, but with cells, DNA, and whatever materials.  (Seemingly still a ways off).

(Hmmm ... it's Saturday night and your party has run out of beer.  Set up your 3D printer and print more!!! )

End of E-Readers???

Taken from: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/new-era-e-readers-or-beginning-end-985032

So, Amazon has announced a new Kindle - Kindle HD 8.9 - with 8.9" HD Display, Dolby Audio, Dual-Band Dual-Antenna Wi-Fi, 4G LTE, 32GB or 64GB

This Kindle - is so much more than a e-reader, but a real tablet (with a real tablet price!!) - and with real tablet functions.  Is this the end of the e-reader - the device that makes printed books go on the endangered list.  

My bias is that there is room for high-end tablets, and some low-end tablets (that are really more e-readers).  

We will see!!!